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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27130624">Because of Her (reposted)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LangstonBlues/pseuds/LangstonBlues'>LangstonBlues</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hydra (Marvel), Immortality, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Temporary Amnesia, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, World War II, are my timelines messy? yes, do i care? yes it stresses me out</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:35:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,807</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27130624</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LangstonBlues/pseuds/LangstonBlues</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James Barnes' past was easy to describe: former soldier, experiment, assassin. He clung to his memories as long as he could, but in the end, it was futile. He became the monster Hydra had created.</p>
<p>Sarah was a different side to the same coin: nurse, experiment, immortal. She watched the world evolve and become what we know today.</p>
<p>Their past intertwined and eventually they came together once more. The question is... Who are they now?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Bucky? Bucky, can you hear me?"</p>
<p>A pair of dark eyes edged open slowly, scanning an unfamiliar room. Where was he? The man tried to sit up, but something was restraining him. He glanced down to see several thick metal shackles holding him against a cold surface. He pushed at them with mismatched arms, but they held fast, immovable. He was trapped.</p>
<p>Having assessed the slab he was on, his focus drifted to his mismatched arms. The man stared at the flesh and bone of his right arm, then to the silver metal of the left. Testing it, he moved the fingers. They moved as if it were the real thing. That's odd, he thought, twitching the muscles in his real arm.</p>
<p>"Bucky?"</p>
<p>His eyes snapped up to who had spoken.</p>
<p>A blond young man, probably in his mid-twenties, stood above him. He was devilishly handsome and looked as if someone had created him. He was familiar, too, like a long lost friend, but no matter how hard the man tried to think, he couldn't place where he had seen him before.</p>
<p>"Who is Bucky?" the captive man asked with a low voice that he couldn’t even recognize as being his own.</p>
<p>Pain flickered behind the blond man's bright eyes, but he quickly composed himself. "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, but I've always called you Bucky. Do you remember?"</p>
<p>"I am- I’m Bucky?" the man asked, eyebrows kitting together. He leaned his head forward slightly, dark strands of greasy hair falling into his face. Why couldn’t he remember?</p>
<p>"Yes." The blond man sighed in relief, allowing a slight smile. "You are Bucky."</p>
<p>Bucky. Hmm. It sounded foreign, but familiar like the blond man at the same time. He let the name sit in his mouth a moment before asking, "Then who are you?"</p>
<p>"My name is Steve. Steve Rogers. We are best friends, Bucky. What do you remember?"</p>
<p>Bucky shook his head, anticipating his blank mind to remain so. "No-" He hesitated, suddenly picturing a face, hidden deep in his mind.</p>
<p>"What is it?" Steve sounded hopeful.</p>
<p>Bucky squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on the image. His head began to ache, but he ignored it. It was a girl- no, a young woman. She was blurry to him, no more than a mere echo, yet his gut feeling told Bucky she was beautiful. Was it simply the fearful, heavy thumping in his chest, or a true memory trying to surface?</p>
<p>"A woman." Bucky struggled to find the words. The dull ache in his head had become a sharp pain in his temple. "I think she’s important."</p>
<p>Steve's shoulders sagged slightly as if he already knew the answer. "A woman? Do you remember her name?"</p>
<p>Bucky shook his head again and brought her back to the edge of his recollection. The longer he sat and concentrated, the more the image gradually grew clearer, and he could see dark red hair pulled back and braided, an intelligent half-smile gracing her face. She wore a sapphire blue dress that fell just below her knee, with a matching hat jauntily askew. Why this image?</p>
<p>Finally, her name came to him, just as his mind became flame. “Her name is Sadie? Sarah? It started with an ‘s.’”</p>
<p>Steve nodded. “Technically. You’re right on both counts. Her name was Sarah, but everyone knew her as Sadie.” He paused, a sadness washing over him. “But she’d be long dead, Buck. It was well over 70 years ago that you two met.”</p>
<p>Anger bubbled within Bucky’s chest. He had finally remembered something, only for it to be snatched away.</p>
<p>Steve wanted to explain everything, right away, but he knew if he did, it would only further confuse Bucky, and what he needed right now was stability. Still, Steve’s own memories were clouding his judgment. "Sadie was a friend of ours back before the second Great War. We served, you and I, in the war. Does that trigger any memories? Do you remember serving?"</p>
<p>Without another word, Bucky allowed his mind to wander into the abyss of his mind again, trying to recover any memories he could. Something was there, lingering at the edge of comprehension. His head was buzzing painfully, but he pushed through it, desperately seeking his previous life. "Water. There's no edge to it; it just lasts forever. It’s somewhere up high. It looks cold." He stopped abruptly, sweat beading on his skin from the strain. "Tell me more about Sadie. Please. How did I meet her?"</p>
<p>Steve considered it for a moment, then nodded. "I guess it was sometime in the late ’30s. We were at a party; you, of course, were drunk. You had a few girls on each arm, but one in particular caught your eye." He paused. “That was Sadie. I recall her wearing a blue dress, mostly because you didn't shut up about it for the next two weeks.</p>
<p>"I think she caught your eye because she didn't hang over you. She seemed to avoid you. You didn't like that." Steve chuckled, lost in the memory. Bucky had the feeling, he realized, of a girl just out of reach, even if he couldn't recall the experience itself.</p>
<p>"Eventually, you cornered her into talking to you. "Two minutes later, she slapped you and left. I don't know what was said, but you came back laughing. 'I like her,' you said. 'She's got spunk, doesn't she?' I said, 'I see that. I also saw that slap she gave you, Bucky.' You only laughed more. I think it was that she hit you that made you fall in love with her."</p>
<p>Bucky sat in thought. "When I saw her in my head, she had on a blue dress. Do you think…?"</p>
<p>"Do I think it's the same? Probably. That was your first memory of her; I wouldn't doubt it would be the first for you to remember.</p>
<p>"A few weeks later, you had dragged me to yet another party, and again, girls followed you around. You didn't even seem to care. You were looking for the girl from the other party.</p>
<p>"It was late, and I had finally convinced you that we should head home when you found her. I practically had to drag you out, but not before she saw you.</p>
<p>"You tried to talk to her again, but this time, she didn't slap you; she poured her drink down your trousers. Somehow before that, you got her name, and you wouldn't stop mumbling it the entire way home."</p>
<p>"Was I in love with her?" Bucky asked, feeling his heart palpitate rapidly at the memory he desperately wished he had.</p>
<p>Steve grimaced. "I can't answer that. Some memories need to come back on their own. Hell, I probably shouldn't have told you that to begin with."</p>
<p>Bucky tried to lean closer, but the restraints held him back, unyielding to his need. "Did she love me?" Why did this girl matter to him so much?</p>
<p>"I can't answer that either. I have to let you at least try to remember a little." Steve sighed, remorse clouding his eyes. It felt so unfair to keep Bucky in the dark, but he knew he had to try to let Bucky’s memories come back as naturally as possible.</p>
<p>Bucky groaned at Steve’s adamancy, throwing his head back against the surface he was strapped to. The same question he had asked himself before still rang in his ears; why was he so distraught about a girl he couldn’t even remember meeting?</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Bucky. I know it's difficult, but I need to you bear with me, okay? We can get through this, together." Steve’s voice was soft, like he was calming a wild animal. In a way, Bucky supposed, he was.</p>
<p>Bucky only nodded, breathing deeply to calm his racing heart. Hoping Steve would get the idea, he closed his eyes, shutting himself off from the world. Or at least what little he knew of it. He heard Steve sigh quietly, then the chair squeak as he stood and left.</p>
<p>Then, Bucky was alone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You can do this, Buck,” he murmured to himself, checking his reflection in the smooth glass on his car. He couldn’t recall the last time he felt nervous about asking a dame on a date, but here he was. He tried to give his mirrored image a charismatic wink, but he just felt like a schoolboy, awkward and foolish.</p><p>As he turned toward Sarah’s house, he realized someone was shouting inside; a moment later, a door slammed from within. The air seemed thick suddenly, and a heavy silence loomed over the courtyard.</p><p>Steeling himself, he knocked quietly, praying whoever had been shouting wouldn’t answer. When no one came to the door, he knocked again, only slightly louder.</p><p>The door flung open almost instantly.</p><p>Sarah stood in the entryway, arms crossed. Her dark eyes were narrowed dangerously, and for a moment, Bucky wondered if she would murder him. It took a moment for him to notice her flushed face and red-rimmed eyes.</p><p>"What the hell do you want, James?" she half-growled, saying his name as if it were a curse. She had the semblance of annoyance, but in her eyes, James saw wariness lingering just below the surface.</p><p>"I- I just wanted to see you," he stuttered, in shock. Impossibly, she looked even more beautiful now than she did the last time he had seen her. She stood in a pale yellow dress, and although her makeup was smudged as if she had been crying, she looked more lovely by the moment.</p><p>Her eyes softened slightly, but not much. She still looked on guard, but no longer murderous. "Why would you want to do that?"</p><p>"I just wanted to know, if you wanted, maybe you could come to dinner with me tonight?"</p><p>"Dinner?” Her wall was crumbling. A faint smile flickered on her lips. “Tonight?"</p><p>Bucky grinned, his fears dissolving almost instantly. "Yeah. I mean, yes."</p><p>She tried to act nonchalant but failed as her face erupted into a full smile. "I guess I don't really have much to do around here." She paused, glancing behind herself for a moment. Bucky hadn’t noticed that the fighting had resumed from inside the house, but it was quickly muffled by the sound of another door slamming. A woman began to cry, but if Sarah felt any sympathy, she didn’t show it. "Hmm, dinner. I wouldn't be ready until, say, seven?"</p><p>Two hours, Bucky thought, relief flooding his body. "Alright. I'll pick you up at seven, then?"</p><p>Sarah chewed her lip, nodding. "Sounds good."</p><p>He took a step forward, intending to take her hand, but right as he stepped forward, a young girl appeared at Sarah's side, her eyes wide and scared. She held a stained stuffed rabbit by the foot, holding it just high enough that it didn’t drag the floor. "Sadie, Mama's crying."</p><p>Sarah looked down. "I know, Evie; I can hear her. Why don't you go see if she wants to hold Bun-Bun?"</p><p>The little girl held her stuffed animal up for inspection. Bucky thought the original color of the rabbit was white, but he honestly couldn’t tell. "We just had tea, and I spilled some on Bun-Bun. I don't want Mama to get any on her dress. She’d be real mad."</p><p>"That's very thoughtful, Evie, but I don't think Mama will mind," Sarah said quietly to her sister, but what surprised Bucky was that she spoke as if she were speaking to an equal, not just a child.</p><p>Evie turned to Bucky, finally noticing him at the door. "Who're you?" She gasped, her jaw dropping. "Are you Sadie's boyfriend?"</p><p>He bent on one knee so he could speak to her, face-to-face. Maybe if he got down and spoke to Evie on her level, Sarah would think he was a gentleman. "My name is-"</p><p>"James," she warned, shaking her head. She had no expression, and Buck felt a slight chill at how cold she suddenly seemed. "I think it’s best for you to go now. I'll see you later."</p><p>Bucky blinked quickly, standing. Had he done something wrong? "Oh. Okay. See you at seven,” he said to an already closed door.</p><hr/><p>Bucky woke with a jolt, bleary eyes staring up at a cold grey ceiling; he took a moment to collect himself before sitting up slowly, that evening’s events playing through his mind once more. He reached for the black notebook Steve had left him to record anything that had come back, no matter how insignificant.</p><p>He struggled to find a blank page, having filled most of the book already with his re-emerging memories. It held everything from his days as a sergeant to when he was under HYDRA's influence as the Winter Soldier to small details about Steve and their decades-long friendship. Some pages held crude drawings of Steve’s shield, others had a skull with writhing tentacles, choking the words on the page with a tightening grasp. The octopus unnerved him every time he passed the page; he could feel its cold stare from the empty eye sockets, as if the drawing would come to life and choke him too.</p><p>Bucky had been worried the dream would fade away, that the details would become blurred, but if anything they grew stronger. For the first time in a while, he was putting the pieces together on his own.</p><p>A dusty office clock on the wall read ten when the door opened with a soft creak, Steve appearing. "How are you this morning, Bucky?"</p><p>"I think I remembered something: I asked Sadie on a date, and she actually said ‘yes.’ It was so-- vivid."</p><p>Steve chuckled. "You asked her out a lot, Bucky. All the time; give me details."</p><p>“I’m not sure where to begin; she seemed mad that I was even there in the first place, but then she warmed up a bit. When I asked, she said yes to the date.” Bucky’s leg began to bounce in anticipation, recalling his nervousness. “Her parents were fighting and her sister came out. That’s about it.”</p><p>"That's probably the first time you made the effort to go to her house to ask Sadie. The seven o'clock date, right?"</p><p>"Yes, it was at 7.”</p><p>Steve smiled, seemingly relieved. His best friend was finally coming back to him, even if it were in bits and pieces.</p><p>Bucky lifted himself to sit on the table that he was granted in his cell and was quiet again. He didn’t meet Steve’s eyes as he quietly asked, "Did-- did she ever love me?"</p><p>"Sadie loved you with every breath in her body, Bucky. I just don't think she would have admitted it to save her life."</p><p>He sat still for a moment, chewing his lip. "Why did she call me James instead of 'Bucky' like you do?"</p><p>"To be honest, I have no idea. She was a mystery."</p><p>Bucky leaned forward, shaggy hair falling into his face. "I want to see her. I need to see that she's real."</p><p>"I know, Bucky, I know." Steve sighed. He had known Bucky would eventually ask to see her. "I will do all that I can to find her, Bucky."</p><p>He stood, checking his watch regretfully. "I have to go now. I have some friends that I can call that can help me find her."</p><p>"Steve?" Bucky’s voice was soft, tentative.</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>Steve smiled. "Of course, Bucky."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the weeks slipped by, Bucky was permitted to leave his room as long as he was accompanied by a guard for his safety. He had retained several key memories, and he could now begin to remember the war, pieces of his life in New York, and Steve. He could recall his parents' names and the street where he lived. On the days he would remember being the Winter Soldier, he stayed tucked away in his room.</p>
<p>Steve, true to his word, visited every day, sometimes bringing a member of the Avengers to try and bring forth more memories with Bucky.</p>
<p>Bruce Banner was a small, nervous-looking man who kept fidgeting when speaking. Bucky had a hard time thinking of the scientist as the green monster he had heard of from Steve. Hell, he wasn’t entirely sure Steve hadn’t just been pulling his leg. Was it a metaphor? Was the scientist just a really big environmental activist and Steve was joking about the physical transformation? Bucky wasn’t sure, but he also had seen enough to know anything was possible, so he kept his questions about Bruce’s other personality to himself.</p>
<p>On days when Natasha came, Bucky felt like he was a little less alone. Sure, he had Steve, but no one knew the depths of what he had been through like Natasha. She was always so still, so quiet, he was always startled whenever he turned only to find her in a different spot. She spoke about Russia, about places they had in common, about the threat they had created. Something about her just felt familiar, and he was grateful.</p>
<p>When Sam Wilson walked in, Bucky knew him as both ally and annoyance. The two traded insults and jokes alike, sometimes overlapping. He had war in common with Bucky and Steve, and he talked about the pain of watching life be taken so swiftly, no one has a moment to mourn. He understood what it was like to watch friends die.</p>
<p>Others came and went, but the one who made the most lasting impression was a man named Tony Stark. Snobbish and rude, Bucky immediately realized he disliked the man. While everyone else had more friendly, or at the very least, neutral tones for him, Tony had an obvious dislike of Bucky as well. The two didn’t speak much, and Tony would leave each time abruptly and without saying goodbye.</p>
<p>And so it came to no surprise when Bucky had had enough and begged Steve to not bring anyone else. “Please, just no more surprise visitors.”</p>
<p>Steve shook his head, laughing at Bucky’s petulance. “I have just one more-”</p>
<p>Bucky interrupted with a huff, flopping in the nearest chair. “No more,” he groaned. Besides Tony being a dick, he couldn’t understand why he wanted to stop seeing everyone.</p>
<p>“You’re probably overwhelmed,” Steve mused, seeming to have read Bucky’s thoughts. “I know how everything is a lot different now, and you’re probably stressed, but-”</p>
<p>“I’m fine.”</p>
<p>“No, you aren’t, and that’s okay. Getting used to this world takes time. That’s the only reason I have you here instead of just throwing you into the fray. You need to adjust first.”</p>
<p>Bucky knew he was right. He was terrified of the day when Steve thought he was ready to go out again. What if he hurt someone? Bucky didn’t think he would be able to live with himself.</p>
<p>After a long silence, Steve tried again. “I have one more person I want you to meet. I think it’s very important that you two see each other.”</p>
<p>Bucky sighed. “Alright, who is it this time? Another scientist? An Avenger?”</p>
<p>“No spoilers, but I do think you’ll enjoy seeing her.”</p>
<p>“Her? Is that supposed to be my only hint?”</p>
<p>“Who said that was a hint?” Steve quipped back, smiling. “But, yes, your next visitor comes tomorrow.” He glanced up at the clock, then stood. “It’s getting late. We both should get some rest; she’s coming pretty early in the morning.”</p>
<p>Bucky stood as well, nodding. “Yeah, I suppose so.”</p>
<p>Steve looked at Bucky for a moment. He could see the sleepless dark circles under his eyes, how fidgety his hands had been for weeks. Bucky was trying to mask his depression, and he had successfully hidden the signs from everyone but Steve.</p>
<p>“Remember, Buck, if you think of anything-”</p>
<p>“Write it in the book. I know, Steve.” He hesitated, unsure if it was the right question to ask. “Have you found Sarah? Do you know if she’s still alive?”</p>
<p>Steve’s eyes shone with something Bucky couldn’t quite place, only answering, “Get some rest, Buck. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”</p>
<p>All Bucky could do was murmur assent as his best friend left. Sleep? No way.</p><hr/>
<p>“Up and at ‘em, Buck!” Steve called out, knocking at Bucky’s door at nine the next morning.</p>
<p>Bucky had been awake for hours, having fallen asleep around midnight and waking back up at five. His body still hadn’t fallen out of that routine, so he had spent the past few hours pouring over files on each of the Avengers, filling in the gaps where his memory still failed him.</p>
<p>He opened the door to an unusually cheery Steve, who came in without another word, something Bucky would have considered rude if it weren’t his best friend.</p>
<p>Steve noticed the open files. “Any questions you need answered?”</p>
<p>“Besides where the hell my memories went?” Bucky chuckled. “Yeah, I have a few.”</p>
<p>Steve nodded, sitting across from where Bucky’s filed were laid out. “Alright, shoot. Whose file doesn’t make sense? Is it Thor?”</p>
<p>“Actually, yes. What the hell? Aliens?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Well, sort of. Thor is a God.” When Bucky gave him an odd look, Steve amended. “God of Thunder. He’s from Asgard.”</p>
<p>“So his file says. But how the hell did he get here, and why did he join the battle of,” Bucky trailed off, searching for the name on the file. “Oh, just the battle of New York. I’m sure there have historically been several battles here, why couldn’t they give it a cool name or something? It was an alien attack.”</p>
<p>While Steve answered his questions, Bucky could see a shadow under the door as if someone was standing just outside, listening.</p>
<p>He silently gestured for Steve to keep talking and went to the door, waiting a moment before flinging the door open.</p>
<p>A young woman stood, fist raised as if she were about to knock. Her mouth dropped as she tried to apologize, but before she could get a word in, Steve burst into laughter.</p>
<p>“Surprise, Buck! Look who it is!”</p>
<p>In the slight rush he had felt before, Bucky hadn’t really taken her in as well as he would have normally, and he felt as if time had slowed to a crawl.</p>
<p>He stepped aside to let her in, and she passed him, heels clicking on the cold floor. When she made it to Steve, she turned back to face Bucky.</p>
<p>“Hey, James.”</p>
<p>The words sounded foreign and strange coming from the woman, and it broke the spell. Bucky stared at her for a beat before managing to whisper her name.</p>
<p>"Sarah?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>surpriiiiise shawtyyy</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Sarah?”</p>
<p>Bright green eyes twinkled as she laughed. “James Buchanan Barnes, I thought I’d seen the last of you, you bastard.” She stepped towards him, arms outstretched. He willingly obliged, remaining embraced for a beat longer as memories hit him, faster and faster.</p>
<p>After a moment, they parted, and he felt his heart leap into his throat. It had been 70 years since the last time he had seen her, yet Sarah looked as if she were still in her twenties. She had the same radiance she had always exuded, but there was a lingering sadness in her eyes. “You’re telling me.” He hesitated. “You haven’t aged a day.”</p>
<p>She flinched almost imperceptively. “The war wasn’t kind for any of us. Especially those of us who were taken.”</p>
<p>“Taken? You mean-”</p>
<p>“They took me too, James, about six months after you fell from the train.” She paused, struggling to find the words. “The next few years were a nightmarish blur. Fortunately, I can’t remember most of the forties.”</p>
<p>Before Bucky could ask anything else, Steve interjected, “When we disappeared, she volunteered as a nurse in the 407th. They experimented on her when they found her sneaking over enemy lines to find us. She didn’t come home for nearly three years</p>
<p>“Fury was the one who helped me find her. Turns out he had been trying to recruit her for years.” He flashed Sarah a smile, but she only rolled her eyes. “I brought it to his attention that finding her would be instrumental in your recovery, so he helped me track her down to Boston of all places.”</p>
<p>“How the hell did you get away from them?” Bucky asked, reaching out for her hand. When she accepted, he noticed thin, pink scars covering her hands and wrist, snaking up her sleeve. The same lines covered her collarbone and neck, stopping at her jawline. The only scar that ventured beyond that was a downward slash across her eyebrow. What had they done to her?</p>
<p>Sarah shrugged one shoulder, eyes growing distant as she recounted, “I was in Warsaw, I think. The facility was bombed, and the first blast knocked out the power to the cell block I was in. All of the doors popped open, and three other girls and I took our chances. The others were either too terrified to leave or thought it would be safer, I don’t know. I’m certain that they died during the second blast.</p>
<p>“Two of the girls, Jane and Eliza, managed to get to the electric fence before they were both killed by an officer. Helen and I managed to get as far as the Polish border before they found us. I honestly don’t know how I got away, but they took her. If HYDRA didn’t murder her immediately, I’m sure she wanted them to.”</p>
<p>Bucky shook his head incredulously. “How did you make it back here?”</p>
<p>“Somehow I managed to get past the French border, but by then the war was over. They sent me back on a boat with as many soldiers as they could fit. I’ve been finding places to try and create a normal life ever since.”</p>
<p>Steve cut in, “After they found me in the Artic, Sarah here attempted to break into SHIELD-”</p>
<p>“I didn’t attempt to break in; I got in,” she interrupted indignantly. “I was arrested for ‘trespassing’ and ‘unlawfully entering government premises,’ which I didn’t even know was an actual charge.”</p>
<p>Steve eyed her critically. “You didn’t know, huh? That’s why you pretended to be a government employee?” She shot him a death glare, but he went on, unfazed, “But that’s when you caught Fury’s eye.” Turning back to Bucky, he continued, “He tried to recruit her, but you know how stubborn she is. She didn’t agree until about two days ago.”</p>
<p>“So you’re going to be joining the Avengers then?” Bucky asked. He tried to picture her sitting at a conference table amongst those he had met over the past few weeks. He didn’t know who would instigate arguments, her or Tony Stark.</p>
<p>She nodded, shuffling her feet. She was clearly nervous, and Bucky tossed out the idea of her and Tony fighting for the time being. At the moment, she didn’t look like she’d pick a fight with even him, no matter how she pretended to be the same girl he had met decades earlier.</p>
<p>Bucky cleared his throat. “So, what they did to you, did they-”</p>
<p>“Give me powers?” she interrupted, seeming to know exactly what Bucky had planned on asking. When he nodded, she smiled sadly. “I got the same serum treatment you two got, plus an experimental serum that was tested on myself and the other girls in the cell block.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Icy fear suddenly crept into his veins, and Bucky realized he was terrified of what they had done to her.</p>
<p>“I mean, you two didn’t age because you were in different forms of cryo, but I never went in.” She glanced away, somehow looking smaller than she ever had. Her once confident demeanor was warped into a hostile mistrust; HYDRA had clearly done a number on her. “I haven’t aged in seventy years, James. I’ve seen everything.”</p>
<p>What?</p>
<p>Bucky looked to Steve to confirm, and when he nodded, Bucky felt a pang of guilt. He wished he could have been with her, to try and keep the horrors of the war far from her mind, to keep her safe.</p>
<p>Sensing the sudden tension, Steve cleared his throat awkwardly. “If you guys need some time to catch up, I can go-”</p>
<p>Sarah quickly interrupted, “No, no, I have a lot of paperwork I have to fill out tonight. Plus Natasha wants to teach me how to spar properly, and I think if I’m going to stick around, I need to learn as fast as possible.” She turned back to Bucky, a sad smile appearing. “I’ll see you around, James.”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah. See you.” He realized with a sharp pang he didn’t want her to leave, now that he’d finally gotten her back.</p>
<p>Steve gave Bucky a pat on the shoulder as he escorted Sarah out, leaving Bucky alone in his room.</p>
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